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Water supply and sanitation services in Ireland are governed primarily by the Water Services Acts of 2007 to 2014 and regulated by the Commission for Energy Regulation. Until 2015 the relevant legislation provided for the provision of water and wastewater services by local authorities in Ireland, with domestic usage funded indirectly through central taxation (including motor taxation), and non-domestic usage funded via local authority rates. From 2015, the legislation provided for the setup of a utility company, ''Irish Water'', which would be responsible for providing water and wastewater services, and funded through direct billing. The transition between these models, and certain aspects of operation of the new company, caused controversy in its initial period of operation. In general in Ireland, water resources are abundant and 83% of drinking water comes from surface water. However, wastage levels are high, with some sources noting that 800 million litres are lost to leaks each day, and usage running slightly higher than in some other European countries, at 160-litre per capita per day.〔 The quality of water from the public mains is usually quite high, with 98.7% of supplies were free from E. coli. However, the microbiological quality of some rural private group water schemes led to Ireland being cited in 2002 by the European Court of Justice for failing to abide by EU drinking water guidelines.〔 For wastewater treatment, 82% of wastewater collected in sewers receives at least secondary treatment,〔 and 1.6 billion litres of water are treated each day nationally; 540 million litres of this is in the wider Dublin area. The low density and spatial distribution of population has resulted in an extensive network of water distribution compared to many other countries – with over 25,000 km of pipes in total. == Water resources and use == Water resources are abundant in Ireland, with 82% of drinking water supplies in Ireland sourced from surface water (i.e. rivers and lakes) and 18% coming from groundwater – 10.5% from groundwater and 7.6% from springs. This high dependence on surface water is above the EU average.〔(Eurostats, water statistics )〕 Only about 2% of Ireland's abundant water resources are abstracted for human use. Unaccounted for water constitutes 41% of total water supply, followed by supply for domestic demand (39%), and non-domestic demand (20%).〔Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government〕 80% of the Irish population is served by 939 public water supplies. The remaining 20% is served by 643 public group water schemes(serving 2.3% of the population), 486 private group water schemes (serving 4.7%), 1,429 small private supplies (serving 0.7%) and private wells that are exempt from the regulations (serving 12.3%).〔(Environmental Protection Agency, 2012, The Provision and Quality of Drinking Water in Ireland – A Report for the Year 2011 )〕 It is assumed that in the absence of domestic tariffs and meters, domestic water use is higher than in other European countries, with daily domestic consumption of water by customer at approximately 160 litres in Ireland.〔 This compares to 150 litres in the UK (where approximately 40% of households are metered), 121 litres in Germany and 114 litres in Denmark (all users are metered in both countries).〔DANVA, 2010, Water in figures – DANVA's Benchmarking and Water Statistics 2010〕 At 141m³ per inhabitant, Ireland has the third highest freshwater abstraction rate per inhabitant of 26 EU countries, ranked behind only Italy and Croatia.〔(Eurostat, water statistics ) 〕 Water shortages that are possibly related to increases in demand, high levels of leakage and changing precipitation patterns due to climate change have left some larger urban areas– particularly Dublin – struggling to meet demand during prolonged dry spells. With a surplus supply of 1% at any given time, the greater Dublin area faces water shortages in the coming 10 years. Furthermore, studies have shown that as the city's population grows close to 2 million there will be a demand for an extra 300 million litres of water per day, compared to 540 million litres per day today. A 2006 feasibility study for the Greater Dublin water supply urges the immediate development of a new water source, pointing out that it will be needed no later than 2015–2016 to avert water rationing and the curtailment of economic growth. It also argues there is no time to waste because it will take at least a decade to build this proposed new source.〔(RTE News:Study predicts Dublin water crisis ), Wednesday, 22 August 2007. According to Dr John Sweeney from the Irish Climate and Research Unit at NUI Maynooth.〕 Dublin City Council has produced proposals for water to be abstracted from Lough Derg on the Shannon river to supply Dublin's water needs, with raw water stored in the midlands as part of the process, but this project must be progressed through statutory planning processes. Also, regional variations in rainfall and population distribution give much less favourable conditions in the east of the country compared to other areas.〔(Water Resources and Management in the Republic of Ireland ), L. M. McCUMISKEY, BE, MSc, FIEI, MICE *P. F. TONER, PhD, Director and Section Head, respectively, Environmental Research Unit, Dublin, Water and Environment Journal, Volume 6 Issue 1, Pages 89 – 100, Published Online 26 July 2007〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Water supply and sanitation in the Republic of Ireland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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